Chapter 99: Carlos’s Teacher
“But…”
“No buts!” Grandma Bersa said, furrowing her brow and sounding rather impatient. She then ignored me and turned her attention to Carlos. “You handle the rest, Melville.”
On the other side, Teacher Melville smiled wryly and stroked his beard.
“Principal Bersa, I’m right here.”
“Oh.” Grandma Bersa glanced in the direction of the voice and nodded. “You take her to… the Cilane Lake dormitory.”
After saying that, she leaned on the edge of the table and wobbled to her feet, clearly preparing to leave. But just a couple of steps out, she suddenly narrowed her eyes in confusion and focused back on Carlos.
“Who are you again?”
“This is…” Teacher Melville began to introduce, but Carlos cut in.
“Lady Bersa, you finally noticed me!” He shrugged dramatically and performed a grand noble bow. “Long time no see, I’m Carlos.”
I was taken aback.
It felt like ages since I saw such a formal Carlos. The last time I witnessed him being this dignified was back in the little village after I woke up from defeating the Abyss. Even when facing Angel, the Pope, Carlos acted super casual.
I also noticed he didn’t refer to Grandma Bersa as “Principal,” but instead as “Lady”… Does he know her husband?
Why does it feel like this guy knows everyone he meets?
“Carlos…?” Grandma Bersa frowned, contemplating for a moment before her eyes lit up in recognition. “Oh, you’re the old man’s disciple! How’ve you been all these years?”
…Old man? Disciple?
Wait, Carlos actually has a master?
And judging by the situation, Grandma Bersa seems to be his… teacher’s wife?!
Suddenly, it dawned on me that despite knowing him for so long, I hardly knew anything about him…
“I’m doing well, thank you for your concern. The kid is all good.” Facing Grandma Bersa, Carlos dropped his usual aloof demeanor and adopted a somewhat stiff posture of a respectful junior. “How is the teacher? Is he healthy?”
“Oh, he’s as fit as a fiddle, but still the same old guy, wandering around aimlessly. I barely see him throughout the year.”
Grandma Bersa sighed, sounding like she was talking about her mischievous little child, and Carlos chuckled at her words.
“At least he still cares for the people.”
“Enough already. At his age, he should know to take a break… Recently, he sent a letter saying he’s off to the Eastern Continent again.” Grandma Bersa shook her head.
“The Eastern Continent?”
“Yeah. Things have been getting chaotic over there these couple of years, not looking good… But enough about that, you’re here to accompany Miss Peilo, right? Go take care of your business first.”
“Alright.” Carlos complied, “Lady Bersa, I’ll come by to visit you later.”
Grandma Bersa nodded slightly.
“Sounds good.” She then turned back to me. “Ah, speaking of which, you’re Skarlij’s child, right?”
She knows my father too?
“Yes, Grandma.”
After saying that obediently, Grandma Bersa scrutinized me from head to toe with her cloudy eyes and broke into a smile.
She reached out her bony hand and gently patted my shoulder.
“Mm, not bad. You have a bit of your father’s youthful spirit… Off you go.”
And with that, she turned to leave the principal’s office.
…That’s one strange grandma.
After exiting the tower, Teacher Melville led Carlos and me towards the dormitory. Along the way, I couldn’t help but succumb to my curiosity and asked the burning question.
“Carlos, you have a teacher?”
Carlos, walking on my right, glanced at me sideways.
“What do you think? I was born sword-swinging?”
I tilted my head.
“Who is it…?”
“You wanna know?”
“Mm-hm.”
“But I don’t want to tell you.” Carlos shrugged nonchalantly.
Then, quick as a flash, he sidestepped my swift kick.
“You guys are pretty close, huh?” Teacher Melville turned back to tease us.
I pouted in response.
“Who, me and him? Not even!”
But then Teacher Melville said, “Principal Bersa and Sword Saint Ryan have been married for decades, doesn’t Miss Peilo know that?”
“Nope…”
I froze for a moment, and it took my brain a bit to register that name.
…Sword Saint Ryan.
The most tales on my bookshelf at Shanter Castle were about him. The stories depicted the Sword Saint wielding a gem sword, slicing through mountains and rivers, making every evil in front of him as fragile as paper. He was the person I admired most before I went missing.
So, Carlos’s teacher is that legendary Pope Knight, Sword Saint Ryan?!
After the shock, I shot him a glare. “Your teacher is the Sword Saint?!”
“Yep.”
“I… I had no idea!”
Carlos threw his hands up. “You never asked me!”
“I just did!”
“But I didn’t want to tell you.”
“…You j*rk.”
“Thanks for the compliment.”
Two human heroes, the Pope Knight and the Sword Saint, went on having this childish banter as they walked down the academy’s path, thankfully, the students were still testing outside the gates, so there weren’t many people around.
Eventually, the three of us stopped in front of another tower.
“This is it, the Cilane Lake dormitory. Miss Peilo, you’ll be living here from now on.”
I looked up at the towering structure, made of blue bricks and towering over fifty meters high.
Standing at its base, I couldn’t even see the tip of the tower; all I saw were the giant wooden doors and windows lining the sides. The sign above the door read “Cilane Lake.”
“This… is the academy’s girls’ dormitory?”
“The girls’ dormitory?” Teacher Melville blinked in surprise, then quickly understood my intention. He shook his head. “No, no, no. The academy’s dormitories aren’t divided by gender.”
“…What?!”
My eyes went wide.
Are you kidding me?!
The Royal Academy has co-ed dorms?!
That’s a bit too much… What’s the world coming to? How could they expect me to live here? What if someone sees me accidentally?!
“Miss Peilo, you might have misunderstood.” Seeing my expression, Teacher Melville burst into laughter, “It’s actually just an apartment. There are four towers like this one at the Royal Academy for students’ accommodations: Yaham Mountain, Cilane Lake, Emi Plains, and Tristray Canyon. Each tower has nineteen floors, and there are iron bars in the middle of each floor to separate the rooms for boys and girls. At night, there will be staff to lock those bars, so you can rest easy.”
…Should’ve said that earlier! You scared me.
So, I lifted my foot and headed into the tower.
“Why the geographical names?”
“The names of the towers? They’re all named after the most famous battles in Royal City history, as a tribute to the heroes who shed their bl**d for honor.”
